Rob Ford Didn't Deserve to Be Fired

I felt sad to hear the court's decision to oust Mayor Rob Ford from office. In spite of what is said about him in the media (as if he was a wild beast who eats humans) he is indeed a caring politician who listens to people and tries to do something about their problems.

How many times has a politician replied to you personally -- aside from during an election when they pretend to be Santa Claus -- let alone show initiative to solve your issue?

I will never forget my experience with Mr. Ford. Even though I was not part of his constituency, he nevertheless responded to me and was willing to meet me personally and bring officials with him to study an issue I cared about. It was about an intersection in the Etobicoke neighbourhood where I suggested a traffic light be installed to ease the congestion.

Though I was out of the country, he did not ignore it and took the initiative to study the proposal, consult city engineers and write back to me about the outcome.

Mr. Ford should not be treated differently than anyone else. I am not implying that he should be above the law. We should be fair when applying the severity of our legal system. Other politicians who have been involved in much more serious offences should have been treated as such, including expelling them from office and holding them accountable for the mishaps they have caused.

With respect, I consider the sentence against Rob Ford to be a little too harsh.

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Rob Ford Verdict

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Sorry this #fordcourt verdict is taking so long. The judge was coaching football this morning and will get around to it soon.

Rob Ford got kicked out of mayors office? WOWWWWW!! Hes hopping on that gravy train right back home.

rip rob ford. stung by a hoard of vicious gravy wasps.

Now I await all Rob Ford memes. #topoli #comeatmebro

Oh, my. Rob Ford has been removed from his office as mayor. Toronto politics just got rather interesting. http://t.co/Ltpmkac6

Rob Ford needs new business cards asap!

Terrifying thought: Governor of the Bank of Canada job is open. Rob Ford is looking for a job. ARRGGHHH! #Cdnpoli

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The Toronto Star tweeted a photo fo their front page with an exclusive story on how the Ford brothers could be planning a way to maintain power if Rob were unable to run in a by-election. More details as they come.

A tired-looking Rob Ford appeared before dozens of reporters at City Hall on Tuesday afternoon. Ford made a brief statement to the media and took no questions. A full text of his statement:

Good afternoon everyone.
I was elected two years ago by the people of Toronto to do a job. We have accomplished a lot in the past two years. But, that job isn't finished yet.
I respect the Court's decision that was released yesterday. My decision to appeal is not a criticism of the Court. But, I feel it is important to work through the appeal system so I can continue to do the work I was elected to do.
This entire matter began because I love to help kids play football. When this came to Council for the vote in question, I felt it was important to answer the accusations
that had been made against me. I was focused on raising money to help underprivileged youth.
I never believed there was a conflict of interest because I had nothing to gain. And, the City had nothing to lose.
But, I respect the court's decision. Looking back, maybe I could have expressed myself
in a different way. To everyone who believes I should have done this differently – I sincerely apologize.
The people elected me to bring respect for taxpayers back to City Hall, and I will keep working to do exactly that for as long as I can – or, until the people elect someone else to do the job.
Thank you. Unfortunately, that is all I can say at this time.

Ford at times appeared close to tears while he was delivering the statement. His voice appeared to break a few times and he was quickly escorted out of the room by his press secretary.

The appeal to the Divisional Court will be the only one he's allowed and will determine whether he'll be able to stay on as Mayor. Earlier today the city solicitor said that Ford will likely receive a stay in his sentence, which means he would be allowed to stay on as mayor until the court rules on his appeal.

Toronto's City Council got a bit more clarity on the Ford case during Tuesday's meeting. City solicitor Anna Kinastowski outlined the legal road ahead for Mayor Ford and Council.

Mayor Ford will have to file an appeal to the Divisional Court and Ford's lawyers will likely ask for a suspension of the sentence — meaning Ford should be able to stay on as Mayor while the appeal is being decided.

The appeal to Divisional Court will be the mayor's sole appeal and it is binding. In the event the mayor does not receive a suspension of his sentence during his appeal, a scenario that Kinastowski said would be unusual and unlikely, the mayor's job would be vacant as of December 10th.

If the city were to hold a by-election to replace the mayor, the city solicitor says that her reading of Judge Hackland's ruling is that the mayor won't be able to run in a by-election and would have to wait until 2014 to run again.

The solicitor also clarified that Ford's legal fees are not being paid for by the City. "The City is not involved," Kinastowski said.

But if yesterday is any indication, that two weeks will be filled with intense legal speculation about whether Ford will seek a stay of the Hackland ruling while an appeal is heard, not to mention political intrigue as Ford opponents and supporters jockey to figure out how to replace him.

If he does go, there are currently two options on the table: appoint a caretaker mayor to fill out the remaining two years of the term or call a byelection. And while it is early days yet, some councillors, including some previously loyal Ford supporters, are beginning to make their preferences heard.

As for the mayor, Ford has said he will appeal the decision at a divisional court. But in order to remain as mayor while the appeal is going forward, he would likely also have to apply for a stay of proceedings.

1) The Argos Grey Cup parade will wind through the downtown core starting at 11:30. Will Mayor Ford show up?

2) City Council meets today. The city's budget is on the agenda and debate around that can get messy during the best of years. Some councillors have been saying they need a special session to deal with rulings around Rob Ford's court case. We'll see if this happens.

3) The Metro Bowl, the city's championship football game is scheduled for tonight at 8 p.m. Rob Ford's Don Bosco Eagles will be playing for the title. Doug Ford, the mayor's brother, has called for a rally before the game for supporters of the mayor.

Questions are being raised about an all-or-nothing provision in a previously little-known "draconian" law that was thrust into the spotlight Monday after it was used to unseat the mayor of Canada's largest city.

At Toronto’s City Hall, surely the most ambiently lunatic building in Canada, a stage was set up to launch the Mayor’s Christmas Toy Drive. Eight small children had been procured to act as “honourary elves,” sitting cross-legged on a carpet at the foot of a Christmas tree, flanked by boxes of mini-trikes and construction cranes. A boxed CFL football sat ominously to one side. The mayor was scheduled to launch the drive at 1 p.m. An enormous crowd of reporters buzzed about. Interest in the mayor’s event had amplified to unusual levels by news that the mayor had just gotten himself fired.

A number of HuffPost Canada bloggers have weighed in the Rob Ford case:

Blogger and comedian Josh Bowman lays out 10 things he learned from Rob Ford. From the blog:

People hate nothing more than hypocrisy in politicians. Corrupt politicians who complain about corruption. Lazy politicians who complain about waste. Lying politicians who complain about a lack of accountability. Nobody is perfect, but if you are going to launch an attack, do your best to live by the principles you espouse.

Katie Heindl says that we should say 'thank you' to Mayor Ford for actually making us interested in civic politics. From the blog:

Ford was, in his own fumbling toward ecstasy sort of way, successfully rallying the entire country. CNN, BBC, they all started paying attention to Toronto, playing into our forever-the-hated older sibling stereotype and need for attention. Sure, it was embarrassing to have a Mayor who looked nothing like Kurt Russell but wanted to pull some sort of reverse Escape From New York on us, but wasn't it kind of nice to pretend for a minute we had a real live liege lord?

While writer Abubakar Kasim said that the mayor doesn't deserve to get fired. From his blog:

While I respect the court's ruling, I think there were other major breaches that warranted similar severe consequences, such as Ontario's -billion eHealth consulting scandal; the cancellation of two gas plants in Mississauga and Oakville at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars to taxpayers; the Ontario Lottery and Gaming scandal; the Samsung deal scandal; the Eco Tax scandal and so on.

Niki Thomas echoes a familiar refrain, that Rob Ford had no one to blame but himself. Read her blog:

As an embarrassed former Ford supporter (a confession which I made a few months back) it didn't take me long to realize I had supported the wrong candidate. From the very moment he was inaugurated, by Don Cherry of all people, we knew we were in for a rough ride. Cherry was downright insulting during the ceremony, attacking "pinko commies" for their support of bike lanes, and bragging about the major changes Ford was expected to bring. The vitriol and anger being spouted during the inauguration were just a sign of things to come.